Bestimmung der Benetzungseigenschaften von Moorbodenlösungen durch Kontaktwinkelmessung

Determination of the wetting characteristics of peat soil extracts by contact angle measurements A simple method for determination of contact angles of soil extracts and of coats of dried extracts is described. Results of the wetting characteristics of the single horizons of a high bog, an acid and a calcareous low bog are given. Influences of pH, salt content, degree of soil dryness and of degree of decomposition are existing.     

Behavior and phylogeny: constriction in ancient and modern snakes

Comparative analyses of behavior have an underappreciated potential for revealing the role of ethoecological factors in the origins of higher taxa. Twenty-seven species (13 genera) in the advanced family Colubridae exhibited 19 patterns of coil application; one or two patterns were usually consistent within a genus. Forty-eight species (26 genera) in the primitive families Acrochordidae, Aniliidae, Boidae, and Xenopeltidae usually used a single pattern, despite differences in age, size, shape, habitat, and diet. This implies the shared retention of an action pattern used by their common ancestor no later than the early Paleocene. Constriction must have been used as a prey-killing tactic very early in the history of snakes and might have been a behavioral "key innovation" in the evolution of their unusual jaw mechanism.     

Uterine biology in pigs and sheep

There is a dialogue between the developing conceptus (embryo-fetus and associated placental membranes) and maternal uterus which must be established during the peri-implantation period for pregnancy recognition signaling, implantation, regulation of gene expression by uterine epithelial and stromal cells, placentation and exchange of nutrients and gases. The uterus provide a microenvironment in which molecules secreted by uterine epithelia or transported into the uterine lumen represent histotroph required for growth and development of the conceptus and receptivity of the uterus to implantation. Pregnancy recognition signaling mechanisms sustain the functional lifespan of the corpora lutea (CL) which produce progesterone, the hormone of pregnancy essential for uterine functions that support implantation and placentation required for a successful outcome of pregnancy. It is within the peri-implantation period that most embryonic deaths occur due to deficiencies attributed to uterine functions or failure of the conceptus to develop appropriately, signal pregnancy recognition and/or undergo implantation and placentation. With proper placentation, the fetal fluids and fetal membranes each have unique functions to ensure hematotrophic and histotrophic nutrition in support of growth and development of the fetus. The endocrine status of the pregnant female and her nutritional status are critical for successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. This review addresses the complexity of key mechanisms that are characteristic of successful reproduction in sheep and pigs and gaps in knowledge that must be the subject of research in order to enhance fertility and reproductive health of livestock species.     

The innate antiviral immune system of the cat: molecular tools for the measurement of its state of activation

The innate immune system plays a central role in host defence against viruses. While many studies portray mechanisms in early antiviral immune responses of humans and mice, much remains to be discovered about these mechanisms in the cat. With the objective of shedding light on early host-virus interactions in felids, we have developed 12 real-time TaqMan(?) qPCR systems for feline genes relevant to innate responses to viral infection, including those encoding for various IFNα and IFNω subtypes, IFNβ, intracellular antiviral factor Mx, NK cell stimulator IL-15 and effectors perforin and granzyme B, as well as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 3 and 8. Using these newly developed assays and others previously described, we measured the relative expression of selected markers at early time points after viral infection in vitro and in vivo. Feline embryonic fibroblasts (FEA) inoculated with feline leukemia virus (FeLV) indicated peak levels of IFNα, IFNβ and Mx expression already 6h after infection. In contrast, Crandell-Rees feline kidney (CrFK) cells inoculated with feline herpes virus (FHV) responded to infection with high levels of IFNα and IFNβ only after 24h, and no induction of Mx could be detected. In feline PBMCs challenged in vitro with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), maximal expression levels of IFNα, β and ω subtype genes as well as IL-15 and TLRs 3, 7 and 8 were measured between 12 and 24h after infection, whereas expression levels of proinflammatory cytokine gene IL-6 were consistently downregulated until 48h post inoculation. A marginal upregulation of granzyme B was also observed within 3h after infection. In an in vivo experiment, cats challenged with FIV exhibited a 2.4-fold increase in IFNα expression in blood 1 week post infection. We furthermore demonstrate the possibility of stimulating feline immune cells in vitro with various immune response modifiers (IRMs) already known for their immunostimulatory properties in mice and humans, namely Poly IC, Resiquimod (R-848) and dSLIM?, a synthetic oligonucleotide containing several unmethylated CpG motifs. Stimulation of feline PBMCs with dSLIM? and R-848 effectively enhanced expression of IFNα within 12h by factors of 6 and 12, respectively, and Poly IC induced an increase in Mx mRNA expression of 28-fold. Altogether, we describe new molecular tools and their successful use for the characterization of innate immune responses against viruses in the cat and provide evidence that feline cells can be stimulated by synthetic molecules to enhance their antiviral defence mechanisms.     

Phosphorus‐enriched soils of urban and suburban Nanjing and their effect on groundwater phosphorus

Neither the phosphorus (P)‐rich soils in urban areas nor their environmental implications have been adequately studied. This study investigated soils of typical urban function zones in Nanjing/China, like park, residential areas, school yards, campus as well as suburb vegetable land and garbage filling sites, and meantime ground water in situ. Typical soils were also experimentally leached for P leaching evaluation. All studied soils were enriched with P with enrichment ratios varying from 2 to 10 for total P and 5 to 22 for NaHCO₃‐extractable P, as compared with the original parent soils. The C : P ratios also indicated strong enrichment of P in urban soils. In urban areas the maximum P layer appeared as buried under different depth while in suburban soils as epipedon. The various morphology of P distribution suggested different soil formation patterns, which were related to the land use history. Groundwater P was significantly correlated with the maximum extractable P content of P in soil profiles and even better with the weighted average P content of the whole profile or P content of the soil layer at or close to groundwater table. Dissolved P in experimental leachate was comparable with that of groundwater but higher than environmentally acceptable level. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between solution P and different extractable P forms of the studied soils. Simple P tests can provide an evaluation of the potential risk of urban soils in discharging P to water system.